Drive car of the year: BMW M3Technologically advanced. Beautifully built. Finely engineered. Deceptively quick. And there’s comfortable seating for four adults. BMW’s new-generation M3 wins our biggest gong by redefining luxury performance motoring. Controversy and car awards go hand in hand, and our selection of the BMW M3 as Car of the Year is unlikely to be an exception to that rule. It all comes with the territory when you try to compare a 157, 000 supercar with a sub 20, 000 city runabout or a medium-sized family car. Had we opted for the Mazda 2 or Ford Mondeo, we might have been branded too populist for ignoring the cutting-edge technology in the Lexus LS460 or the M3. So it is only reasonable to suspect we’ll be tagged elitist for giving the gong to the lightning-fast but relatively pricey M3. But we’re confident we got the decision right. Why? For a start, we measured the cars not against each other but against a uniform set of criteria under the bonnet, how it drives, comfort and practicality, safety and price, quality and equipment. How does the BMW stack up against those requirements? Pretty damn well, thanks. It has an awesome engine, unbelievable grip, four comfortable seats, an anticipated five-star safety rating, and a price tag some 40, 000 cheaper than a comparable Porsche 911. On top of that, the BMW was a clear unanimous winner in a segment that included last year’s Car of the Year, the Audi TT, and a 240, 000 Jaguar that has received glowing reviews both here and overseas. Three other cars were unanimous choices: the Toyota Aurion, the Mazda 2 and the Toyota Kluger. But the Aurion was ineligible for the top award because it was beaten by last year’s winner, the Audi TT, which in turn lost out to the M3 in this year’s judging for the Performance Car Over 60, 000 category. The same rule excluded the Volkswagen GTI and the Mazda 3. In the end, 10 cars were eligible for overall honours, but six were soon culled. They included, in no particular order, the Mercedes-Benz C200K, Toyota Kluger, Volkswagen Eos, Holden SS Ute, Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan X-Trail. The Mercedes-Benz has better road manners than its predecessor, more equipment and a sharper price tag, but it is still not a quantum leap forward against the opposition. The BMW 3-Series still steers and handles better, while the Lexus has V6 power and more standard equipment, including fully electric seats an option on the Mercedes. The Kluger has an excellent safety package but its road manners aren’t as good as some rivals such as the Ford Territory, while the Odyssey interior is more spacious and attractive. The Volkswagen Eos has plenty of pose value with some nice interior styling touches that lift it above its closest rivals are optional extras. But is a little expensive and its rigidity not as sound as the rival Ford Focus CC. The Focus CC also handles and steers better and is only let down by its underpowered engine, while the Audi TT and BMW 335i are better cars albeit with much higher price tags. The Commodore SS Ute was an absolute hoot to drive and Holden deserves plaudits for introducing stability control on a utility vehicle. It’s just a shame there aren’t any curtain airbags, given the SS’s brutal acceleration. It’s also a thirsty beast and bowed out before the final cut. The two off-roaders the Nissan X-Trail and Toyota LandCruiser missed the cut for similar reasons. Both are big, practical, roomy and competent off-road but their on-road manners and interior styling lack the polish of their competitors. The LandCruiser is a little one dimensional and anti-social in the city while the X-Trail lacks the quality feel of the Honda CR-V. All the judges were relaxed with the four cars that made the final cut, but that is where the consensus ended. Strong arguments were made for all four cars. The Mazda 2 is the first car under 20, 000 to offer six airbags and stability control. It has a clever and flexible interior, is a lot of fun to drive, looks great, and is 100kg lighter than the car it replaces. But it is not light years in front of the Nissan Micra, which is a much older design, and the Toyota Yaris is arguably quieter and more refined. The safety package is impressive but not standard, which limits its impact to a small percentage of buyers willing to put safety ahead of an upgraded stereo system or alloy wheels. In the end, it was judged a clear category winner but not a Car of the Year. The Lexus LS460, winner of the World Car of the Year, turns the upper luxury segment on its head. It matches last year’s winner, the Mercedes S-Class, on refinement, beats it on standard equipment, and arguably takes automotive engineering to the next level. It has the world’s first eight-speed transmission on a car and the world’s first anti-submarining seat airbags in the rear seats. And it’s about 130, 000 cheaper than the Benz.” It basically wastes the opposition,” one judge said. But in this elite company it is let down by less than perfect road manners and an interior that doesn’t quite match the class of the Germans. The fact that some switchgear is common with Toyotas doesn’t help its cause. Extremely close, but no cigar. That left the Mondeo and the M3 and a ripsnorter of an argument. On the side of the Mondeo were its road manners, razor-sharp price, class-leading safety, and a cabin that rivals the Falcon and Commodore for interior space. With a price tag five times less than the M3, the Mondeo looked the money. But for all its support, the Mondeo also had its knockers, who argued that while it was a comfortable category winner, it wasn’t the leap forward expected of a Car of the Year. The engine was refined but wasn’t as lively as the older Honda, while the interior was a step down in quality and fit and finish. A bad dash reflection also annoyed some judges. That left the M3. There were reasons not to pick it. It was relatively thirsty, it was expensive, and we’d had a couple of electrical gremlins with the other BMWs on Car of the Year. The Mondeo supporters accused the M3 camp of being hung up on performance. But in the end, the M3 won because it re-writes the rule book on luxury performance cars. It goes and handles like a Porsche 911, but has four seats, a boot, and is significantly less expensive.” Compare the M3’s price 157, 000 with other performance cars and it’s dead cheap,” said one judge, adding that an entry-level 911 costs more than 200, 000. It’s also more than 100, 000 less than an Audi R8 supercar powered by engine with identical number of cylinders and power 309kW V8. The M3 is comfortable and compliant around town, but has awesome grip and poise. It also offers a more comfortable ride than most BMW luxury cars. In short, it’s the great leap forward that a Car of the Year should be. The last-generation M3 was a great car deservedly revered, yet BMW’s engineers found a way to make the new model more useable, more refined, more technologically advanced and also faster. One judge described the new M3 as” a pinnacle car”, while another said it” defies belief” and” will go down as one of the all-time great cars”. We go back to the succinct appraisal of two judges after their session in the M3 on day two of judging: ” It wins.” Vehicle specifications: BMW M3Drive blog: I can hear the howls of protest now. Drive’s judges are a bunch of elitists who simply pick the fastest and most expensive toy from the Car of the Year field. Last year it was the TT and this year it’s the BMW M3 where’s the relevance to the ordinary punter, I hear you say?.
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